Please join artist-occultist, David Chaim Smith, who will present readings from his book,The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis (2010, Daat Press). A mystical reinterpretation of Genesis 1-3, the book unpacks the biblical symbolism which serves as the basis for much of western mysticism and inner alchemy. The talk will be accompanied by projected examples from his image cycles “Blood of Space” and “The Sacrificial Universe”, as well as magical sigils and kabbalistic shiviti diagrams.

About the book:

The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis is the first book of its kind. It rigorously re-examines the first three chapters of the book of Genesis from a radical non-theistic position, completely removing the concept of a creator God. Despite this ‘heretical’ position, the book utilizes a traditionally precise kabbalistic vocabulary and structure. Previous works that have attempted to unpack the text invariably rely on theistic dogma and mythology. Smith’s book is absolutely devoid of conventional religious ‘truth’, and probes the ultimate mysteries using epistemological and ontological questioning from a base of gnostic realization. The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis was previously only available to a small group of Smith’s students and close colleagues, but it is now apparent that this work is enormously important and had to be made available to a wider audience.

Praise for The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis:

A gifted artist who has a deep contemporary understanding of Jewish mystical wisdom, David Chaim Smith takes us into the domain where zero is one, where the all is nothing, and where the creative moment is constantly renewing itself. The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis is not a book simply to read, but to contemplate and live with. – Rodger Kamenetz, author of Burnt Books and The Jew in the Lotus

An amazing book – boy does it have chutzpah! – Hymenaeus Beta, Frater Superior, O.T.O

David Chaim Smith is a mystically oriented occultist, visual artist, and writer. He was born in 1964 in New York City, and his education and early career was as a visual artist throughout the 1980s. In 1990 he began an immersion into Hermetic Qabbalah, which included ritual work with several occult orders. In 1997 he abandoned visual art for dedication to mystical practice, from which came a unique blend of Chassidic mysticism and traditional Kabbalah with occult Hermeticism. This coalesced through working with the 13th century text Fountain of Wisdom, which he mapped out diagrammatically. The resulting symbol system served as the basis for his 2007 return to visual art. He currently lives in New York City with his wife Rachel.

This event will be in conjunction with Observatory’s current group art show, ALCHEMICALLY YOURS.